A woman gave birth in the back of a car on the way to a hospital, but the vehicle then left the road and struck a utility pole, killing her husband.
Both the newborn boy and the mother, 22-year-old Atara Sasoon, were hospitalized late Thursday in fair condition.
The car crashed Wednesday about a mile from the hospital in the Jersey Shore town of Brick.
Binyhmin Sasoon, 22, was found slumped over the steering wheel and was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was apparently ejected from the car and was able to stop a passing motorist.
The motorist, Patrick Schlagenhaft, found the baby in the car under a coat. The infant wasn’t breathing, so Schlagenhaft, taking instructions from a 911 dispatcher, cleared the boy’s mouth and nose.
“It let out a big cough,” said Schlagenhaft, 35. “It was the most amazing sound ever.”
Investigators were looking into what caused the crash, which happened about an hour before sunrise. Schlagenhaft said the roadway was foggy and dark.
